Man pleads guilty to staging arson as politically-motivated attack for insurance payout
A man from Brooklyn Center pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Tuesday after he filed a bogus insurance claim for a camper he burned down as part of a fake politically-motivated attack.
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Court documents state that 30-year-old Denis Vladmirovich Molla falsely reported that someone else had lit his camper on fire. He also told law enforcement that “three unknown males” were near his home when he heard an explosion.
Molla reported that his property was targeted because of a “Trump 2020” flag that was displayed on his camper. His garage door also had spray-painted graffiti on it that showed “Biden 2020,” “BLM” and a symbol for Antifa. The Department of Justice states that Molla was really the one who lit his own property on fire and spray-painted his garage.
A news release from the Department of Justice states that Molla submitted multiple insurance claims seeking coverage for the damage to his garage, camper, vehicles and home that was caused by the fire. However, the insurance company disputed those claims and Molla then wrote a complaint to the company saying that he was being defrauded. He also threatened to report the insurance company to the Department of Commerce and the attorney general.
Molla reportedly collected about $61,000 from his insurance company but submitted more than $300,000 in fraudulent insurance claims.
Molla also received more than $17,000 from people donating to him through two GoFundMe accounts that he and others had set up.
A sentencing hearing will be set at a later date.